


White Houses

by RocckoWithNoK



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Recreational Drug Use, Self-Acceptance, Slow Burn, Summer Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-05-21 12:37:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14915522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RocckoWithNoK/pseuds/RocckoWithNoK
Summary: With summer vacation comes new possibilities and testing the improbable. It's Ian's last summer as a high school student before the chaos of senior year begins. With luck, one car, a lake house, and five friends, secrets begin to unfold. Ian finds himself in the middle of it, but he can't say he minds.Influenced by the song "White Houses" by Vanessa Carlton.





	1. Chapter 1

Ian tossed his small styrofoam football into the air and caught it from where he was lying down on his too-small bed, up and down, up and down. Up. Down. It’s been awhile since Ian had anything to do after school that didn’t involve JROTC training. Conditioning training was cancelled for a month before school started was pretty freeing news for him. Freeing to do what, he didn’t know. The freedom to have the option to do anything is nice to have, he supposed. Even if that meant just relaxing in his rarely quiet room, in his twin bed in the south side of Chicago where outside is anything but peaceful and freeing.

Catching his toy football one final time, he closed his eyes. It’s early August and the kids are out at the pool enjoying their lax summer. Conditioning has been a bitch this year. Beginning his senior year of high school in September is daunting with college application deadlines looming on the horizon. He hadn’t thought about West Point in a while since he filled out the candidate questionnaire about two weeks ago. He met nearly every criteria and has four years of training and experience under his belt. He and Lip worked incredibly hard to outperform on the SAT and ACT during Ian’s junior year and although his scores was only slightly above average, he really picked his grades up in junior year. Lip celebrated by attacking him with a stolen Nerf gun the morning grades were posted.

Ah. Lip. Ian chuckled and sat up to pick his phone up from his nightstand. He doubted he was going to get a response from his older brother. He had been working at Chicago Polytechnic since he finished his first semester of college and was supposed to have arrived this very morning to enjoy the rest of his summer vacation with his family. Ian texted his brother early this morning for more details but thinking it over, he wouldn’t be surprised if Lip found himself a fling to hook up with for the rest of the summer. Ian noticed two awaiting texts on his notification screen, still just as excited although it wasn’t his brother.

 **Mandy <3 | 8:12pm  
** -hey army! are u busy rn?  
-pls tell me ur not working out!! ur already way too hot :/

 **Iannnnn <333 | 8:25pm  
** -lmao shut up  
-nah. lip was supposed to be here tn but his highness was a no show  
-what’s up?

 **Mandy <3 | 8:26pm  
**-dad is just being awful and im was wondering if i could come over for a bit

 **Iannnnn <333 | 8:26pm  
** -god you don’t have to ask  
-i’ll be in the back

 **Mandy <3 | 8:27pm  
** -bet u will be ;)  
-that was a gay joke btw

 **Iannnnn <333 | 8:28pm  
** -no way  
-take from mickey’s primo stash pls  
-im bored

 **Mandy <3 | 8:28pm  
** -the sleeping dragon will kill me no way  
-see u soon

 **Iannnnn <333 | 8:28pm  
**-hahaha ok :)

Ian cracked his back by twisting around a bit. His body was fucking exhausted. Achy. In need of a real break from stress and physical exertion. Some pot would be ideal. Pot and bumming out with his best friend would be great. Although Ian asked Mandy to steal from Mickey’s stash, he knew Mickey would give her anything she wanted just for being his baby sister. The Milkoviches were fucking scary by principle, but Ian knew as much as anyone on the south side that family stays loyal to one another. He also knew from experience that the Milkovich siblings had layers, if his unexpected friendship with Mandy was anything to go by.

Ian stuffed his phone into his pocket and made his way downstairs. The inside of the house was so quiet. He heard Debbie’s favorite song playing loudly in their backyard from the top of the stairs and Carl screeching about the water being too damn cold. Ian opened the back door and went out into the backyard.

“Ian! Are you coming in?” Debbie exclaimed, adjusting her bright purple goggles on her face.

“Oh, not today. Back kills. Where’s Fiona?” Ian wondered.

“Next door helping V with dinner,” Kev emerged from underneath the water and attacked Carl with pool noodles.

“Gotcha.” Ian sat down on a pool chair right next to the steps and pulled a beer out from the melting cooler beside the chair. Kev and Debbie were yelling along to the song “Run the World” and Carl covered his ears, making Ian laugh and added to the commotion by tossing some pool toys at the laughing bunch.

After a few songs went by and Carl decided to get out of the pool in fear of becoming too pruney and staying that way in which Debbie explained why that isn’t possible, but also taking her cue to wrap a towel around herself and get out anyway. Kev followed them as they walked to his house to dry off and have some dinner. He felt a vibration on in his front pocket and reached for his phone. Lip is calling.

“Well if it isn’t Mr. No Show,” Ian greeted his brother.

“Hey, sorry about that, man. Got caught up in last day of work festivities, you know how it goes. I’ll be back tomorrow morning so tell Fi that it’s for real this time. Um,” Lip hesitated and cleared his throat. Ian heard rustling.

“You good? God, please tell me you’re not in bed with your flavor of the week,” Ian teased.

“No, no. I mean. Not exactly? I’ll tell you tomorrow when I see you. It’s good though. I think it’s really good.”

Ian rolled his eyes, “Whatever you say, big bro. What time are you coming in?”

“Bus leaves at around 10AM so take that as you want. Chicago transport got me fucked up. We should invest in a car.”

“Ha, good luck with that. With five mouths to feed, we can’t really get something that big anytime soon. It’s nice to dream though.”

“I guess. We should get a fucked up car, at least. Used, dirty, donated because it’s fucked. I can fix it. Win a lottery or some fighting match to get something. Would be useful.” More rustling. A muffled voice. Ian heard Lip shushing someone.

“Alright. I’m going to let you go,” Ian wanted to end the call especially since he spotted Mandy walking through the open backyard fence.

“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lip said. Ian hung up and stood up, giving Mandy a warm hug.

"Hey, boyfriend,” Mandy looked up to Ian, grinning at him cheekily who greeted her in return. “Got you something. Mickey is a charitable king. Didn’t have to steal or fight him.”

Ian pulled up another pool chair for Mandy to sit on. Mandy sat with her knees pulled up to her chest and reached into her hoodie kangaroo pocket with two perfectly rolled fat blunts and handed one to her best friend.

“Already rolled? Milkoviches should be known for their hospitality,” Ian grinned. Pulling out his lighter, Ian sparked up both of their blunts and took a hit.

Mandy giggled and exhaled O’s. Ian reached out and offered his hand for Mandy, a usual comforting gesture he always gives Mandy the option or not to take. Mandy blushed and interlocked their fingers together and pressed her head against Ian’s shoulder.

“Rough day?” Ian whispered.

“Yeah. Mickey took the worst of it. Everyone else went away,” Mandy sighed and squeezed Ian’s hand tightly.

“He didn’t touch you, right?”

“No. Mick made sure of that,” Mandy said quietly.

“Good. That’s good,” he said with finality, taking another drag, in and out, in and out. Minutes pass. In, out.

“Hey Ian! Want some spaghetti? And have you heard anything from Lip?” Fiona shouted from the other side of the fence from Kev and V’s backyard.

“Said he’ll be here tomorrow morning. Is it cool if Mandy comes over?”

“‘Course. She can take Lip’s spot. Come on in, guys. Food’s gettin’ cold,” Fiona hopped back up the steps to Kev and V’s house.

“Come on, boyfriend. I’m fucking famished,” Mandy stood up and put out her piece and Ian followed suit.

“Right behind you, girlfriend.” Not letting go of her hand, they walked into a warm house where everything would be okay for a while.


	2. Chapter 2

Lip jiggled his leg as he was nearing his stop on the last train back to the south side. He’d finished his first year of college back in May, but he was only going home now, in mid-August, because he’d been offered a few extra weeks of work if he stayed on campus, with the added bonus of a slight pay raise he couldn’t afford to turn down. Even though he’d gotten a full ride scholarship, he still had to work his ass off during the year so he could keep sending money back to his siblings, and so he could have at least a little extra on the side for himself. He worked as a research assistant for this important professor at the school and got pretty close to most of the younger part-time faculty in the engineering program at Polytechnic. Needless to say it had been busy year, in addition to school and work Lip had been helping Ian study for his own exams, which he passed with flying colors. Even though all of that took up the bulk of his time, he still somehow managed to pass all of his own classes, even if he barely made it through one of the core classes the school forced him to take despite the fact they had nothing to do with his major.

Living on campus for the summer would have been a bit of a drag had he not met up with one of his past professors. Professor Scott was one of Lip’s TAs in his introduction to engineering class, he wasn’t much older than Lip and they had fallen into a comradery after Lip eventually swallowed his pride and begrudgingly asked for his help after failing one assignment too many. After that, the two quickly became friends. They didn’t have much in common besides lighting up after a long day, but Professor Scott, or Tyler, as he insisted Lip call him, did know one of Lip’s old high school friends, Karen Jackson.

As much as Lip wanted to distance himself from the south side, traces of his past kept creeping up on him. He asked about Karen pretty frequently and Tyler indulged him with stories of her new life with Sheila up in Michigan.

After their breakup in high school, Lip had been a bit lost. Karen moved away so he wasn’t offered much closure about the first real relationship he ever had. Fiona and Ian served as his rocks and helped him out during his funk at the time, but after that he ultimately wanted to find a bigger purpose and motivation to do something, anything. He hadn’t dated anyone seriously since then, not for any traumatic reason, but just because there hadn’t been anyone worth chasing after. After three years there hasn’t been much development for him in that area.

The train slowed to a stop and he got ready to get off and make the short walk back to the Gallagher house. Slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder, he power-walked back home to find Ian sitting on the porch with his head thrown back, eyes closed as he exhaled a large puff of smoke.

“Hey,” Lip reached him and patted Ian’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Oh wow, hey, man,” Ian smiled, stood up and hugged his brother, one arm wrapped tight around his shoulders with the other outstretched behind him holding his cigarette between two long fingers.

“Missed you,” Lip ruffled Ian’s hair and plucked the cigarette from Ian and took a long drag.

“Yeah, you too. How was the trip down?” Lip hopped up the steps and made his way into the house, Ian standing up and following.

“S’fine. Hungry as hell. Everyone inside?”

“Mhmm. Figured I would be the one to drag you inside like a trophy and feel like a damn hero for once,” Ian bumped his shoulder against Lip’s, taking his stolen cigarette back. “Debs wants to go to the community pool today and she wanted to wait for ya.”

“Well, come on, lieutenant. Protect me from the screaming girls,” Lip playfully pushed Ian out in front of him and they headed inside as Ian laughed.

“Ian? Can you text Lip that if he isn’t here in twenty minutes, I’m never going to move my stuff from his room!” Carl exclaimed from the kitchen.

“Why don’t you tell me yourself, buddy?” Lip and Ian entered the kitchen and were greeted by Debbie feeding Liam at the table with Carl making faces at him from behind her while Fiona packed them sandwiches for later. As soon as they heard his voice from over the usual noise of the house their eyes snapped up to Lip. The girls immediately dropped what they were doing in order to attack him with hugs, leaving behind Carl, responded with a joking groan and a fist bump, as well as a very confused Liam.

“Did you just get here?” Fiona asked, passing Lip half of a ham and cheese sandwich seemingly out of habit.

“Yup, and I’m fucking starving so thanks for this, Fi. Nothing like a home cooked meal,” Lip smirked at her, waving the sandwich in the air.

Fiona rolled her eyes, “As if you aren’t eating well in college.”

“In more ways than one,” Carl smirked. Debbie, who had gone back to trying to feed Liam, covered his ears and muttered a quiet “Gross” while exchanging a look of pure indignation with an equally exasperated Fiona.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lip polished off his sandwich and made his way to Liam on his high chair, pinching his cheeks before ruffling Carl’s hair and sitting next to him.

“Alright, well I’m all done here so get ready, guys. Ian, d’ya want to get the cooler to bring to the pool? Here’s a fiver to buy ice from the truck outside.” Ian nodded, took the money, and went to get the cooler from the backyard.

The pair of kids went upstairs to get their towels and swimwear leaving Lip, Fiona and Liam alone in the kitchen.

“So? Tell me all about it!” Fiona leaned against the washer, sipping from her glass of lemonade. Lip shrugged.

“Went well. Made a lot of money,” Lip patted his back pocket where his wallet was stuffed in. “Should cover the kids’ school stuff, y’know?”

“Lip, you can always keep that money. I’m not forcing it out of you...I have a job and it’s goin’ pretty good. The daycare is going great as well, Debbie is a fuckin’ entrepreneur,” Fiona smiled proudly.

“Well, keep it for the squirrel fund at least. I’m all good, trust me. Which is something I wanted to talk to you about. You know Tyler?”

“Hot TA Tyler? I see him tagging you in pictures on Instagram all the time. What about him?”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that first part but yeah, he’s great...really great. He invited me to stay in his lake house in Lake Michigan. Says that I’ve been working my brain too hard.”

“Oh yeah? Is it a cabin?” Fiona asked. Ian walked in with the cooler and Carl’s pool snorkel in hand.

“God, that’s what I thought it was, but turns out it’s a fuckin’ huge house, right on the lake. His parents bought it for him after he got his doctorate. He’s going to Portugal tomorrow, so it’s going to be empty for the rest of the summer. His usual house sitter for the place is on vacation until September and his parents are real paranoid about him leaving the house empty for so long,” Lip shrugged, “I was thinking of bringing you all along.”

Ian’s eyes widened and he practically bounced over towards Lip.

“Count me in,” he said with barely concealed excitement, “I mean, it’s not like ‘m doin’ anything else.”

Fiona looked at the two boys with the same expression she’d given them as kids when they asked her to take them to the zoo.

“Oh guys. I can’t call out of work, people already covered for me so much during the school year  and the daycare business is booming…” Fiona reasoned, “And you know how Debs is...”

Lip shrugged, “Yeah, makes sense. She’ll have everyone’s head if we take her business away from her.”

Ian looked back and forth between the two, like a kid watching their parents trying to decide on whether or not their kids could stay up past their bedtime. He stayed in his place in the background, watching it unfold between them.

Fiona glanced at Ian, noticing his quiet anticipation, and perked up, quickly adding, “But this’ll be great for you guys! Officer-to-be Gallagher is going to fancy army school next year, so it might be the last summer you two get the chance to do something like this together.”

Ian grinned, trying to push down the anxious feeling Fiona’s last comment had triggered in his gut, “So we’re doing this? We can go together?”

“Yeah, we can go together.”

* * *

 

It’s late. The sounds of a block party a few streets over were dying down, the typical post-party armature fireworks show lighting up the sky in all sorts of erratic patterns. Mandy called Ian’s cell as she walked up the front steps to the Gallagher house.

“Mandy? Are you alright?”

Mandy rolled her eyes, “No, I’m dying,” she replied teasingly.

“Come out to the front and see for yourself if you’re so worried,” she said, ending the call and glancing up towards the window to Ian’s room. Lights were still on, so not even Liam was in bed yet.

Mandy rocked on her heels and decided to sit on the front steps as she waited for Ian to come outside. Her fingers fidgeted. She heard a door open and shut behind her and a weight settle beside her.

“It’s late,” Ian observed.

“House of horrors is being more horror than house lately,” Mandy leaned against Ian’s shoulder, he instinctively wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

“You can stay here tonight,” Ian offered in a soft and careful tone. Mandy nodded a silent ‘thank you’ and took a deep breath.

“I got into a fight with Mickey,” she muttered, almost too quiet to hear.

Ian hummed in acknowledgement, ready to listen if she wanted to talk about it but not pressing further if she didn’t.

“He was being a lot. He’s always checking up on me. Doesn’t say anything, just stares. I hate it. I know it’s stupid.”

Mandy stared at her phone with one unread message from Mickey.

“I’m mostly just upset that Mickey just leaves me in the dark sometimes. Like...for days at a time, especially when things get...like tonight, like even worse than usual. I don’t know. I wish he would just talk to me about stuff sometimes. It all just sucks, you know? He’s always there for me but I can’t do anything to help him.” Mandy spoke frantically, like if she stopped to breath she might lose her nerve.

“Some people think they can handle their own, I guess,” Ian replied, calm and assured, “I think he’s fine though. He’s probably got his own friends to lay shit out on.”

“I guess. I want school to start. Staying home is making me lose my fuckin’ mind.”

Without thinking, Ian said, “You should come to Michigan with me and Lip.”

Mandy looked at him with an expression of tentative suspicion, “The fuck is in Michigan?”

“Lip’s teacher friend asked him if he could watch his lake house for the rest of the summer. Right now it’s just going to be me and Lip, but there’s definitely enough room for you too..it’s a huge house. I don’t know what it looks like but his parents bought it for him when he graduated school. It could be a good break for you, I mean, only if you want. I know my brother can be a bit of a dick, but he’s all bark and no bite, plus I’ll be there too so--”

“When are we leaving?”

“Seriously?”

“Um, yes. You kidding?” Mandy continued to stare at him incredulously, though her previous suspicion seemed to be fading, “I have nothing going on here. It’d be nice to take a breath of fresh air for a bit,” Mandy smiled and pecked Ian’s cheek. He grinned in return, silently agreeing with her thoughts.

* * *

 

Lip trudged down the back stairs in a sleepy haze, in need of some caffeine if he wanted to book the bus tickets to the lake soon. It had been a long fuckin’ day, accompanying the kids to the community pool had been fun but it was anything but peaceful. He opened the fridge and took out can of pop when he heard a girl giggling along with Ian’s big laugh coming from the living room.

Lip figured it was Mandy. Mandy and Ian had been attached at the hip for about three years now. She had been Ian’s beard for a few months in sophomore year. After coming clean to her Ian decided to drop the straight act altogether, figuring he could hold himself in a fight so anyone who had a problem with him had the choice to keep their mouth shut or try it with him. It seemed like everyone chose the former since he never heard of Ian having any problems after that, which Lip found surprising in itself since every other Gallagher (including Liam) had major issues with at least two other people every other month.

Even after all that, Ian always hung out with Mandy both in and outside of school, but never in the Milkovich household.  He doesn’t really know Mandy personally so anything that he knew about her and her infamous family came from rumors around high school, along with whatever Karen told him while they were dating.

He knew she was a Milkovich and that alone should have risen some alarm but she’s stuck around this long without being horrible to Ian, so he accepted it. Other than that, he knew that her brother Mickey was his age and that he dealt some of the best weed around, which he figured would be a nice relaxing way to go to sleep that night. Lip sat at the counter and pulled his phone from his pocket.

 **Gallagher | 12:43am  
** -Got anything good?

 **Mickey | 12:45am  
** -Fuck off

 **Gallagher | 12:46am  
** -I have good coin.

 **Mickey | 12:49am  
** -I’ll block you

 **Gallagher |12:50am  
** -Is Mandy staying over my house by the way?

 **Mickey | 12:50am  
** -What do I fucking know  
-Omw

Lip smirked to himself and took a swig from his Coke as he heard more uproar in the living room. He made his way to the living room and saw the pair stifling laughter as Ian tried to braid Mandy’s hair and it ended up in knots.

“Hey,” Lip nodded at them before he sat down on the single recliner, phone in hand.

“Don’t college kids value their sleep? What are you doing up?” Ian teased, Mandy beside him silently waving with a goofy grin.

Lip rolled his eyes and gave a quick wave back, sending Mandy into a tiny giggle fit, “Been trying to set up bus tickets for the lake, before you ask I have it covered so don’t worry about it. And I’m pretty sure college kids value pot as much, if not more, as sleep. ”

“Can we make that three actually?” Ian asked sheepishly, “You said there’s a lot of room.”

“I can pay for my own,” Mandy offered quickly, “I just...Ian made it sound like so much fun and things haven’t been so great at home.” Mandy looked down, slightly embarrassed, “Which is why I’m staying here tonight.”

Lip thought silently for a few seconds. Did he really want his younger brother’s fake girlfriend with the two of them for a whole month? He knew Ian did want her there, and he’d clearly already told her she could so they’d both be crushed if he said no, but Lip had been hoping for a vacation with just his brother. But he also knew how horrible the Milkovich father was to his kids...how they didn’t get scoped out by CPS is still a wonder to him, especially since the Gallagher kids had their own short stint rolling around the foster system. A particularly strict CPS Officer had deemed the house uninhabitable after the water got turned off for barely a week during a particularly hard year for the family, but despite the Milkovich family’s worst kept secret the only time kids left that house was after being cuffed and processed.

And so Lip relented, “I mean, I guess. We’ll divvy up the expenses tomorrow,” He sighed, mentally calculating the new cost and how much that would leave him for the rest of the summer, “A car would come so in handy right now.  Driving would be so much fucking easier, Muskegon isn’t even that far.”

“Is that the name of the town?” Mandy snorted.

“Yeah. Flights are crazy expensive, the bus is about $80 per person. It’s at least 20 hours by bus because of stops and that sounds like a damn nightmare, but unless we can call up Jimmy/Jack/Steve and get a car for free, that’s our best option.” Lip explained.

They all sat in pensive thought for a moment before absentmindedly returning their gaze to the TV, momentarily engrossed by whatever boring skit was on Saturday Night Live. After a few minutes a light from outside shone through the thin curtains from the living room and the three looked towards the window, a moment later the lights flicked off and they heard the sound of the car lock.

“Who the fuck is that?” Ian picked his head up groggily from Mandy’s lap where he ended up on. She stopped running her fingers through his hair, gently pushing his head back down to his spot on her lap. All of the sudden three hard knocks pounded at the front door.

Lip grimaced and quickly got up to answer the door. Mickey pushed him aside and entered the living room.

“What the fuck Mandy?” Mickey looked at the scene in front of him; that ginger kid from Mandy’s grade was lying down on her lap and he was furious.

“Can you quiet the fuck down?” Ian got up from his place and sat down next to Mandy. “Kids are sleeping,” he said.

“The fuckin’ ki—Listen, I don’t care and I wasn’t talking to you, Red. What the hell, Mandy?”

“I’m staying here tonight. I don’t want to go home. You know Ian and you know Lip. Now go away. Why the fuck are you even here, asshole? Did you install a fucking tracker in my head while I was sleeping?”

“I texted him. I just wanted pot. Not for your psychopath brother to yell all over the fucking perimeter!” Lip butted in.

“You said Mandy was here and I don’t trust you to not do some freaky shit, asshole. Come on, Mandy, we’re leaving.” Mickey went to lift Mandy up by her arm before Ian blocked him.

“She wants to stay. She’s safe here. You know she’s not safe in your house, Mickey.” Ian reasoned.

Mickey looked between Ian and Lip while Mandy stood her ground.

“You can stay, too,” Ian supplied softly.

“Fuck off,” Mickey rubbed his knuckle against his nose exasperatedly, feeling uncomfortable being under Ian’s knowing eye.

“Y’know what, guys? It’s late. We should just go to bed,” Mandy interjected and dragged Ian along with her to ascend upstairs.

“Whatever. I’m out. Have fun with your boyfriends,” Mickey turned around and slammed the front door behind him.

Mandy rolled her eyes and made her way up the stairs to the boys’ room.

“Well, little bro. You heard the lady,” Lip clasps him on the shoulder and goes up to their room.

Ian stood in the middle of the living room and thought about how Mickey would probably freak the fuck out once they make the trip up to Lake Michigan, knowing that he won’t take it lightly. But Mickey does have a car. And being in a car with Mickey, Mandy, and Lip might not be so bad. He would table that discussion for tomorrow morning at breakfast, knowing the opposition from all three people would most likely be exhausting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I appreciate any and all feedback :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block + graduating college + job interviews + accepting a job offer and starting said job....sorry for the delay, folks. 
> 
> My girlfriend/beta has been helping me out a bunch so maybe reread the previous chapters because I'm sure the syntax/flow of the story is better now LMAO

“So that’s why I think Mickey should come,” Ian finished.

Lip shook his head in disbelief and Mandy rolled her eyes.

“You know, I’m getting really tired of this whole ‘protect Mandy’ shtick,” Mandy crossed her arms.

“Come on, Mands. It’s a lot cheaper. Unless you have $80 to shell out for a bus ticket, then let’s do it.”

“Even if its cheaper, what makes you think Mickey’s even gonna for it? Doesn’t he just lie around and get drunk all day?” Lip reasoned.

“First off, no he doesn’t,” Mandy glared at Lip. “And second, I know Mickey. He’ll go. Just let me tell him.”

Ian grinned. Lip scoffed.

* * *

 

**Mandy | 10:10am  
** -walking home now

**Mick | 10:14am  
** -Ok  
-Dad’s out til Monday btw

Mandy found a pep in her step as she turned the corner on her house’s block. Her dad not being home for three days gave them just plenty time to leave for Michigan without having to explain anything. She found Mickey making breakfast in the kitchen.

“Hey,” Mandy leaned against the counter next to where he was using the stove for eggs.

“Ate already?” Mickey asked.

“Yeah,” she replied tentatively, “Ian made pancakes.”

Mickey nodded and sighed.

“Listen,” Mickey avoided her eyes, “If you like. Want to hang out there for the rest of the summer, you can. No one’s stopping you,”

Mandy hesitated, briefly considering whether it was the best idea for her to ask her clearly resentful brother the question.

“About that…I wanna ask you something. Lip and Ian are going to stay at a lake house for the rest of the summer. Lip’s friend’s house. They invited me.”

“Good for you.”

“We wanted to know if you wanted to come.”

Mickey looked at Mandy for the first time since she entered the house, eyes narrowed, searching her face for any sign of insincerity, “Uh...what?”

“Yeah, Lip and Ian said it was cool. Plus we can drive there and it’d be cheaper. We’ll all chip in for gas. It’s just gas and food that we need to buy for three weeks. And you’re the one with the car so—”

“So. Wait, you just wanna leave for a fuckin’ month. And what? Dad’ll be okay with that?”

“We don’t tell him anything, genius. We’ll just come back and act like everything is normal. Drunk bastard will probably forget we’re gone when he’s on a bender. It’ll be fine.”

“Alright.”

“Wait, what? Just like that?”

“Just let me know when we’re leaving. Supposed to be nice today.”

“Today? Like soon?”

“Yeah, if we’re gonna go, then let’s just go. But I’ll tell you this, if that douchebag Lip says anything weird in my car, then he’s gonna have to walk his skinny ass—”

“I’ll call Ian!” Mandy rushed into her bedroom, ready to tell her best friend the good news, ignoring her brother’s grumbling.

* * *

 Lip and Ian were busy in their room packing their duffle bags and backpacks to take to the lake house. The entire room was upside down, clean clothes mixing in with dirty clothes, with Lip picking up after Ian. The window was open, letting the noise of the midday summer day accompanying the scene. The temperatures reached a high of 90 degrees these days so Debbie and Carl were always out back in the pool with the rest of the day care kids.

“Do you have my swim shorts anywhere in your drawers?” Ian asked.

“Uh I might…” Lip rummaged through the top drawer. “Ah, here,” he tossed them to Ian.

“Okay, I’m officially all done,” Ian checked his watch. “They should be rolling up any second now.”

“Me too. I’ll be downstairs with Fi. Clean up your shit, dude.” Lip slung his bags over his shoulder before exiting their room.

For the first time in a long time, Ian was excited. For a change of scenery, for the beach, all of it -- all things he hasn’t really done in all of his life. He’s never been on a road trip before, and he definitely doesn’t count those week long trips Monica used to take him and his siblings on, only to end up waiting outside of a crackhouse for their mother to emerge. No, this was going to be good time and he was going to enjoy every second of it. He spent a few minutes shoving his spilled laundry under his bed, figuring that he could just come back to his mess of his room after his vacation. Just thinking about the vacation left a dopey smile on his face.

“Ian! Come say bye to your brother and sister!” Fiona shouted from the kitchen.

Ian double checked that he had his phone and wallet in his pocket and shrugged his bags on his shoulders.

No time like the present.

* * *

“We got Cheez-its, Pringles, pop, and four different kinds of chocolate bars,” Mandy threw the grocery bag on the floor in her passenger seat and sat down. Mickey hopped into his driver’s seat and pulled out of the gas station.

“The Snickers are mine so if any of you bitches touch em, prepare to die,” Mickey grumbled and straightened pulled onto the road. Mandy rolled her eyes, reaching for the auxiliary cord.

“You do know junk food only makes you more sluggish, right?” Lip quipped.

"Let me guess, College bitch, you only buy organic vegetables to stuff your face with, thanks your fancy scholarship, huh? Let me ask you something, how’s the rest of your family eating?” Mickey looked in the rearview mirror with his lip curled.

“Hey, hey. That’s enough, the both of you,” Ian interjected, nudging Lip’s leg and giving him a pointed glare. Lip rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, turning to stare out the window.

“He started it,” Mickey mumbled, glancing over at the GPS. One more hour to go, the homestretch. He glanced at his sister reaching over for the volume knobs again. “I swear if you put more of that Justice Beaver crap on…”

“You didn’t have a problem listening to my music for the past hour!” Mandy pouted.

“I have a good playlist on my phone, if you want to pass me the cord,” Ian suggested, wanting to make the very tense and awkward atmosphere a little bit better.

“Anything to get rid of this pop shit. I’m pulling over,” Mickey switched lanes all the way to the right, and came to a halt. “Get out, bitch. Switch with Gallagher.”

“Ugh, fine,” Mandy got out and changed seats with Ian. Ian fiddled a bit on his phone and plugged in the auxiliary cord and switched on his new playlist titled “Road Trip 2k17!” Mickey shrugged as the intro of “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen started as he pulled back into the highway lane.

Mickey drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as the chorus kicked in. Ian grinned into his chest and nodded along to the song and looked back to see Lip and Mandy lip syncing goofily to each other and playing the air guitar.

He looked over to Mickey and found him mouthing the words and Ian took it a step further, belting out the last verse:

“The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive, everybody's out on the run tonight but there's no place left to hide!”

Lip grinned and joined with his younger brother, prompting Mandy to join in, “Together Wendy we can live with the sadness, I'll love you with all the madness in my soul!”

Mickey laughed at the scene unfolding and finished with everyone, all together, “H-OHHH, someday girl I don't know when, we're gonna get to that place, where we really wanna go, and we'll walk in the sun, but till then tramps like us, baby we were born to run!”

When the song finished, the two pairs of siblings were left with big smiles and out heaving for breath. The next song was starting up, “Ocean Avenue” by Yellowcard. Mickey held out his hand toward Ian and the latter looked over from his phone from where he was choosing the songs.

“Beer me a Snickers bar, would ya?” Mickey had a trace of a smile left on his face.

Ian laughed at his reference from The Office before rummaging through the pile of junk food on the floor to hand Mickey his coveted Snickers bar. Mandy and Lip were singing along to “Ocean Avenue” in the backseat in over exaggerated pop-punk voices, and in that moment, Ian was positive everything was going to work out. He turned to glance at Mickey and caught Mickey’s eyes already looking at him, and together they held a silent agreement of the same thought.

* * *

Lip rolled his phone in between his hands and anxiously debated if he should text Karen. Although they hadn’t ended on bad terms, he still hadn’t talked to her since she moved to Michigan. On the one hand, it would be nice to catch up with her, but on the other, it might not be, and he didn’t want to impose his personal issues on present company.

He decided against it for now, especially since the remaining hour of the trip went by quickly. Mickey had gotten them to Muskegon and was driving through the town to scope out the area before they headed to the lake house. The scene was quaint but hinted at the possibility of a decent nightlife scene...if you knew the right places to go. There were tons of mom and pop owned stores and restaurants, which made Lip miss the Chicago he knew back when he was growing up. They ended up finding a strip of businesses within walking distance from the lake house that had a bar, an Italian restaurant, and a corner store that Mandy asked to stop at to pick up some booze.

“Tyler said he stocked up the fridge before he left so we’re good on food and beer for a bit,” Lip directed his attention to the driver. He saw Mickey nod before pulling onto the street where the lake house sat.

“Holy shit.” Mandy and Ian said, eyes wide as saucers at they took in the scenery before them.

The houses on the street were beautiful, and even that was an understatement. Mickey kept a slow roll as they looked for the correct number on the mailboxes outside of the houses until they finally spotted their destination. The house appeared to be two stories tall from the outset, made out of dark colored wood with large windows over most of the perimeter. Mickey pulled into the driveway and stared at the house in silent, thinly concealed wonder. Mandy was the first one to leave the car, followed by Ian, Mickey, and then Lip. Mickey popped open the car trunk to grab their bags as Lip fiddled with the house key that Tyler loaned him.

Lip opened the door and felt faint. He must have done something saintly in a past life because he absolutely could not believe he was going to be staying here for the next few weeks.

“Damn, Gallagher, you fuckin’ this guy or something?” Mickey broke their shared silence.

“I...What? No! I wasn’t expecting this either, alright?”

“Are we allowed to even touch anything?” Ian’s eyes found a large chandelier hanging up in the dining room.

“He really trust you enough to let a bunch of hood rats in here? That’s crazy. You sure he doesn’t have the hots for you?” Mandy raised an eyebrow, in tandem with her older brother.

“Listen, this is crazy, I get it. It’s been a long car ride, how about we just put our stuff down and chill for a bit.”

“Oh my god, our rooms! Dibs on the master bedroom!” Mandy grabbed her bag from where she dropped it near her feet and climbed up the stairs, taking two at a time.

Ian laughed, taking off after her.

“God, they’re so fucking annoying.” Mickey opened the refrigerator and found a Blue Moon, twisting the cap and throwing it on the fairly large kitchen island.

“I always wonder if Ian is actually just straight and faking it just to get as close as possible to Mandy,” Lip chuckled, copying Mickey and tossing his own bottle cap.

“Yeah, well. You can’t fake that.” Mickey muttered, leaning against the island and studying the bottle’s label.

Lip raised an eyebrow but stayed silent, taking a long swig from his own bottle. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and found that he had a text from Karen. He began to make his way upstairs as he opened the text,

**Karen | 5:13pm**  
-Hey, lip! It’s karen in case you didn’t have my phone saved. Tyler passed on ur number to me, said ur going to be in my neck of the woods. Hit me up!! Would love 2 catch up :)

Lip grinned, pocketing his phone as he jogged upstairs to set his things down and message her back.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're getting there, folks.

Ian flopped down on his new bed, surprised to find that the comforter was as soft and plush as it looked. Mandy had acquired the master bedroom as promised, which left three other bedrooms. Ian picked the one that looking out onto the lake. Although it was the smallest of the three, he felt like he would love waking up to the beach every day. He heard birds chirping and rustling in the large tree next to his window that he opened earlier, the breeze off the lake cool on his face as the summer sun just started to dip towards the horizon. Ian sighed contently and walked outside of his room, flagging down Lip right as he was about to enter the bathroom.

“Food?” Ian asked.

“Fridge and pantries are full, make me whatever you’re having. I’m meeting up with Karen later,” Lip rushed out before grabbing a towel from a closet in the hallway and disappearing into the bathroom. 

Ian rolled his eyes, he could never really tell where his brother’s mind was. He decided to wander before going downstairs. The room next to Mandy’s seemed to be occupied by Lip and the one next to Lip and closest to the bathroom must be Mickey’s. He peeked into the room with its door already wide open and found Mickey’s bags strewn on the floor, but void of the guy himself. Mandy was probably taking a bubble bath in her private bathroom which meant Mickey was downstairs somewhere.

As if on cue, Ian heard an exclaim, “Fuck yeah, _Talladega Nights_!” coming from downstairs. Ian descended the wooden stairs to find Mickey sitting in front of the biggest couch he’s ever seen, in front of the biggest television he’s ever seen.

“Whoa, how big is that? Like 70 inches?” 

“At least. There’s so many fuckin’ movies, I don’t even know where to start.”

“ _Talladega Nights_ is funny, we should definitely watch that.” Ian suggested and made a move to sit down on the couch. Mickey raised his eyebrow.

“We?” 

Ian was confused. He thought their three hours of bonding in the car would have made them closer to “friends” territory, but he guessed not. 

“Listen, just ‘cause my sister’s your hag, doesn’t make us buddies,” Mickey said coldly, staring ahead and not meeting Ian’s eyes.

“Alright,” Ian said dejectedly and left the room, making a beeline for the kitchen where he should have just went to originally. 

God, what the fuck is that guy’s problem? If this was about the gay thing, Mickey better get used to it, Ian thought. He knew that Mandy told Mickey that he was gay after the whole Let’s Kill Ian Gallagher for Assaulting My Sister incident, but he hadn’t asked how Mickey felt about it. Mandy said that Mickey just halted the search for Ian almost instantly and went MIA for a while.

Ian opened the pantry to find all sorts of pasta, in which his eyes zeroed in on a box of spaghetti and a jar of tomato sauce. He opened the freezer to find ground beef and decided on meatballs. If he can’t be friends with Mickey, he figured, at least they should tolerate each other for the sake of Mandy. And if it meant Ian would make everyone a nice hearty dinner, so unlike than what they’re accustomed to back home just to see Mickey smile again like how he did in the car, well. No one has to know. 

* * *

Mickey didn’t even want to watch television now. Truth be told, he felt anxious at the prospect of hanging out with Ian one-on-one. The kid is just so happy-go-lucky even when there’s nothing to be happy about. He talks enough for five people, but he’s a good listener too, at least that’s what Mandy told him once. Ian takes care of his sister when he’s not able to, always offering his place to stay for the night when things are rough at home, which Mickey appreciated dearly, but also always brought on a nagging feeling of guilt and shame that he couldn’t protect his sister in what was supposed to be her home. He had heard the stories of the Gallagher family, how they face as much shit as any family on their side of town but always make it out okay and stronger than before, usually with a quirky story or two that spreads for miles around detailing their wild antics and close shaves. They’re an annoying sitcom family, a regular fuckin’ Brady Bunch compared to the Milkovich family, if you could even really call them that. 

The movie felt like a lost cause after he told Ian off like that, despite what others might think he did feel guilt when he lashed out and hurt others. So as a silent penance for his actions, he settled on a rerun of "Deadliest Catch," an episode he’s seen countless times at home. Being reminded of home wasn’t exactly what Mickey had driven all the way out here to do, but he figured he probably deserved it after being snappy with the poor kid, who had limped off like a kicked puppy. He watched, but didn’t really enjoy, the rest of the episode and about halfway into the one that aired after before he caught a whiff of something good coming from the kitchen. His stomach grumbled. He turned to look towards the kitchen door and was about to go investigate further when he felt a presence sink next to his on the couch. 

“Deadliest Catch again? Put on a fuckin’ movie, bro! Ian is making dinner. Imagine being able to cook anything besides scrambled eggs and pancakes? I had no idea he could.”

“Yeah, he’s a regular fuckin’ Ratatouille in there,” Mickey grumbled and Mandy snatched the remote from his hand.

“The rat’s name wasn’t Ratatouille and you goddamn know it. Hell even I know it, because you’ve seen that movie about a billion times, which means I’ve had to see it about a million by proxy.”

Mickey heard a burst of laughter from the kitchen in response to Mandy’s comment and his face flushed bright red.

“Y’know, being in love with a gay guy won’t turn him straight,” Mickey muttered In frustration. Mandy pushed his shoulder hard and gave him a look that was three parts anger and one part hurt but before she could retort Ian came into the room with their dinner.

“We got spaghetti and beer, a true feast for us all,” Ian interrupted, placing two plates piled high with spaghetti on the coffee table. 

“Thank you, honey! This looks awesome,” Mandy instantly brightened in response to Ian entering the room. He ruffled her hair, making her giggle, before leaving to get plates for Lip and himself. Mickey rolled his eyes and picked up a fork. 

“Civilized people say ‘please and thank you,’ Mick,” Lip emerged with three beers for Mickey, Mandy, and himself.

Mickey snatched his beer from Lip and set it down in between his thighs. Just as he was going to retaliate with a biting comment, Ian came back with a plate of food for Lip and himself, sitting himself down next to Mickey. With three people on the sofa it was a tight fit, tight enough that they couldn’t help but touch. He bristled at the unfamiliar feeling of intimacy that Ian didn’t even seem to register as strange.

Mickey took a bite out of his spaghetti and had to hold in a moan. It’s been a while since he had a home cooked meal, so even something as easy as spaghetti felt like an unimaginable luxury. 

The two pairs of siblings ate in silence, watching an episode of Death Row Stories that Mandy found on Netflix. 

“Ian, this is soooo good. You sure you want to go to the army?” Mandy joked.

“You have a future in cheffing for a hot rich old guy,” Lip egged on. Ian laughed and shook his head.

“Even Mickey likes it! He hasn’t said a word.” Mandy elbowed her older brother playfully. 

“Do you fuckin’ mind? I want to know what happens,” Mickey said referring to the episode, but mostly averse to starting a conversation about how great the one and only out gay guy is.

“Well, I’m going to get going. I’m meeting Karen at that bar we saw. Text me if anything, alright?” Lip assured. “There’s a spare key to the front door in the bowl on the island.” 

Ian fist bumped his brother and Mandy waved him goodbye. Mickey didn’t acknowledge him, faced completely forward to the television. 

“Well since Mickey isn’t going to offer, I’ll do the dishes since you cooked,” Mandy collected their empty plates. 

“There’s a dishwasher,” Mickey mumbled. 

“Oh, even better!” Mandy scurried to the kitchen to put the dishes into the wash.

Mickey and Ian were left on the couch alone, both thinking about the other. Ian desperately wanted to get into Mickey’s good graces, but it was obvious his approach of unbridled friendliness was just making things worse. He turned to look at Mickey and caught the latter already looking at him. Mickey quickly turned his gaze away in favor of picking his cuticles.

“Want to check out the lake?” Ian asked hesitantly. Mickey shrugged and stood up, walking towards the sliding doors that led out back. Ian called over to Mandy to tell her they would be outside and she was free to join once she finished in the kitchen. She politely declined, telling him she wanted to take a nap before they went out on the town later. 

Ian cracked his neck as he tried to calm his unexplained anxiety over being alone with his best friend’s older brother. He found Mickey swinging on a hammock in the backyard. Ian pulled up a lawn chair to face the water and noticed the fire pit a ways from the backyard patio.

“We can make a bonfire,” Ian observed, keeping conversation light. Mickey looked over and hummed, reaching into his pocket for a joint and a lighter. 

“Sun’s going down soon so..” Mickey looked at the horizon as he lit up. 

The sky was a mix of light blue, orange, and a dusty pink. It was still early, probably about half an hour before the sun was to set. The backyard was about 40 feet away from the start of the pier, the span of the blue water shimmering long ahead to the horizon. Mickey kicked the ground, keeping the momentum of the hammock’s swing and took a large inhale and then exhale. He looked over to Ian who began taking pictures of the horizon and tall trees. 

“I’m gonna check out the water,” Ian announced, standing up and jogging closer. Mickey squinted, looking towards the horizon. The sun was setting over the lake, already halfway behind the waves as the pinks and oranges of the evening clouds tapered into the beginnings of a starry night sky. There were already more stars visible than he would see in the dead of night in Chicago; out here there was no pollution or bright city lights to hide them. He watched as Ian paused in front of the pier, pulling out his phone to take a shot of the setting sun...or a poorly lit selfie he supposed. Mickey grabbed the ashtray off the table next to where Ian had been sitting and quickly brushed his half smoked joint for later before getting up to join Ian in exploring the lakefront.

Ian snapped a couple of more pictures before he noticed a presence next to him and psyched himself up to ask a dorky question as they walked to the end of the pier where a large gazebo sat.

“I know this is pretty lame but do you think you could take a picture of me in front of the water?” 

“God, are you going to post this on Instafuck or something?” Mickey rolled his eyes.

“Is that a dating app?”

“What? No. Play on words for Instagram.”

“Well, sounds better than Grindr,” Ian said without thinking. Ian’s hair on the back of his neck stood up, panicked that he might have brought up the whole gay thing to someone who doesn’t exactly hate gay guys, but also might not be their number one fan.

“Yeah. I would join.” Mickey mumbled. Ian stayed silent, thoughts going a hundred miles per second. Is Mickey gay? Is he bisexual? What did that mean? Is he just joking? Did he just mean a dating app in general or a gay dating app? 

They stayed silent for the next two minutes, finally reaching the gazebo. Mickey gestured for Ian to give him his phone so that he could take a picture of the redhead in front of the beautiful landscape of their temporary home for the next few weeks. 

“Is here alright?” Ian asked Mickey as he positioned himself right in the middle of the gazebo. The sun was set lower, the sky mixing in its deep red and light orange hues. Mickey lifted the phone and zeroed in on Ian’s slightly smiling face on the phone’s screen.

“Perfect, man.”

Ian beamed.

**Author's Note:**

> My girlfriend and I have been brainstorming this story for /years/. Last year, I made it a goal of mine to write more. I already have a few chapters written that I still need to edit, but I listened to the song this morning and figured it was time to finally post some of my work. I've received some great feedback from my girlfriend, to whom I dedicate this story. I love you.
> 
> I've been a fan of Shameless since 2013 and Mickey/Ian still haunts my dreams. My heart has been broken so many times by the show, but it doesn't negate the fact it has also saved my life many times before. So. Thanks for that, Shameless.
> 
> This story is very self-indulgent and I hope to bring justice to our favorite characters. I'm looking to forward to know your thoughts. Thank you for reading.


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